Bluebird Flying

Another unbelievably busy day, and one more bluebird as requested from my daughter!   I love experimenting with the batik on rice paper method - everything about it is so unpredictable!  You never really know just how things will turn out until the very end!   This painting is number 1365 in 1365 days :)

Bluebird Batik

Bluebird Batik
Watercolor batik on rice paper, 6x5

Bluebird in Flight

My youngest daughter has been wanting me to paint some bluebirds for a few weeks.  I did a couple of studies in my sketch book, but was looking for something looser and more vibrant.   So, I turned to my India ink pens for the drawing, super thin rice paper for the substrate, and watercolor for the medium.  I have some pigmented inks that I have yet to try, but I didn't get to them today.  I think I used my medium point Pitt pen for the first time this afternoon!   I normally reach for the superfine or fine, and occasionally the brush tip.  Perhaps I can push it even looser in the future, I am longing to splash some of that ink around!   Crazy, right?   Painting number 1359 in 1359 days :)

Bluebird Flying

I've been so heavy into the oils lately, I've decided to take a little break with my watercolors.  I have a new little plein air pan set, and I used them for the first time today.  The colors are pretty opaque, which I am totally not used to.  I use all transparent Daniel Smith colors, which mingle in a completely different way than opaques.  It will also be fun to see how will I can adapt to the 140 lb cold pressed, spiral watercolor journal.  That paper is a far cry from the rough, 300 lb paper block that I adore!  I used my new 300 lb block today, and oh!  How I love that paper!  I sure missed it when I ran out.  Painting number 1335 in 1335 days :)

Bluebird in the Pear Tree

Bluebird in the Pear Tree
Pen and ink on paper, 5x7

Oh my!  This bradford pear tree is glorious with blooms!!  It is so full, I can hardly see the birds as they fly into it’s branches!  This tree was one of the first we planted so many years ago - and now it is 30 feet tall and nearly as wide!  What a beauty it is each spring, and it turns a fiery red each fall!  The bluebirds love flying from tree to tree up the lane, and it is a joy to see them getting closer to the house!  This piece is the 1175th in 1175 days :)

Watercolor Bluebird

Watercolor Bluebird
Watercolor on paper, 9x12
sold

This is the first in the series of bluebird paintings I did for my youngest daughter.  While waiting for the youngest son to return home, so we could all go out to lunch together - I was able to paint three before leaving the house!  It felt a little unnatural to get back into the watercolors after so much time in the oils!  I picked the 100% cotton rag paper for this first painting - totally forgetting how much a dislike painting on it!  It has a lovely texture that is pretty in the finished piece, but the paints seem to sit on top of it forever before settling in - and the colors mingle very slowly and with hesitance.  I had to leave it completely flat while working, or so much of the paint would have run completely off the paper!  In hindsight, maybe that is the best advantage of this paper.......I will have to try it for the very purpose of creating very drippy paintings! Michaela wanted all three paintings, so I framed them all up for her to take to her college suite.  I wonder how many of her friends are hanging original work in their rooms?  Painting number 1068 in 1068 days :)

Michaela's Bluebird

Michaela's Bluebird
Watercolor on paper, 9x12
sold

This is the second of the bluebird paintings that I worked up for Michaela.  Looking for a more contemporary feel, I am working under the motto of "less is more" on this one!  Working wet on wet, there is no layering.  Each area is painted in with very wet color, then extra colors are dropped in and allowed to mingle on their own.  I almost never mix my paints in watercolor, I simply drop them in and let them do their own mixing - come what may.  This 140lb cold pressed paper is holding me back, though.  I don't remember the maker, but I think it is English.  Not enough texture and not enough weight for me.  I must order some more 300lb paper!  It seems to be all I want for my watercolors now!  Getting back into this fluid media after such a time away takes a little bit to get used to.  I want to get loose, sloppy wet strokes, but I think I still need to warm up to that!  I really loosened up by the third - so I guess three really is the charm!  Painting number 1007 in 1007 days :)

Drippy Bluebird

Drippy Bluebird
Watercolor on paper, 10x7

My daughter had asked me for an abstract, watercolor bluebird painting a couple of weeks ago.  She told me she wanted it to be 6 foot tall for her dorm room! After responding that watercolor paper does not come that large, I didn't hear further on the subject.  She came home for the weekend, and the topic came up again, she was kidding about size - so I started working on a bluebird.  I haven't had my watercolors out for a while, and it as fun to be playing in the water again! This is actually the third one I painted today - and her favorite.  I used three kinds of paper, this an arches 140 lb cold pressed.  I looked high and low, but I think I must be out of my favorite 300 lb paper block.  I simply love the way the heavy weight paper allows the paint to mingle and spread - and I love the texture as well.  Another thing I LOVE about watercolors?  They are SUPER fast to work in - which is this busy girl's "go to" on a day full of lunch out with family, visiting Mike's parents, and getting home in time to frame before Michaela makes the long drive back to campus! This painting makes 1006 in 1006 days :)

Bright Bluebird

Bright Bluebird
Oil on canvas, 6x4
purchase here

Once again I am capturing one of our bluebirds in paint!  However, in this one, I am pushing the color, laying the paint on a little bolder and brighter.  I like the color play - it has a playful, cheerful feel!  I am using both brush and knife, and my favorite brushes that I bought in April are finally starting to show some wear.  Mind you, I have used them every day since - about 150 paintings worth!  I guess they are entitled, I didn't expect them to last forever!  This is Day 7 of the 30 day painting challenge, and my 980th painting in 980 days :)